Yesterday was the first day that the PSP Go was available for sale at retail. Reaction was mixed, as many potential customers were displeased with the high price.

The new model (PSP-N1000) will sell for a MSRP of $249.99 compared to the $169.99 of the older PSP-3000 model that will continue to be sold indefinitely. It has a smaller 3.8 inch screen, versus the 4.3 inches of the PSP-3000 which uses Sony's proprietary Universal Media Disc (UMD) format. The PSP Go also features built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.

The latest generation of the PlayStation Portable lineup is the first to use digital downloads from the PlayStation Store as the exclusive means to buy a game. Games and demos are downloaded to the console's 16GB internal flash memory either directly, through Sony's software on a PC, or through a PlayStation 3. Additional storage of up to 32GB is available by purchasing a Memory Stick Micro device.

Sony had announced plans for a UMD trade-in program so that PSP owners would be able to use their old games, but nixed that due to "legal and technical issues". Many gamers are thus sticking with their older PSP models instead of upgrading to the PSP Go.

The firm hopes to make the entire PSP software library available at the PSP Store, but so far there are already 225 games available for download. Some retailers are upset that they will not see any revenue from software for the PSP Go, and have decided to boycott it.

The whole point of the PSP Go is to deliver games that are more affordable in a smaller, lighter package that has greater battery life. Sony is targeting gamers who don't yet have a portable console and Nintendo DS Lite owners who are looking for better graphics. Time will tell whether Sony will be successful or not.

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No, it is the same market - personal mobile entertainment, and SONY just made a huge mistake not defining the market segment properly. This device is doomed, it will not sale. And YES, comparing to Ipod or other smartphones is very very proper marketing here.

For this thing to be successful: 1. it has to be smartphone 2. it has to have the huge application base like AppleSony is probably teh only company that has the resources to build a real competitor to Apple, but instead they try to segment the personal mobile entertainment market. HUGE mistake here....

Sony are already behind in many other sale segments because of the proprietory Memory Stick too. They have great technologies, but they tend to screw their markets recently...and things will only get worse with the financial crisis and falling disposable incomes. Even the BluRay will inevitably become obsolete, given the multimedia players like WD TV and alikes, and the falling cost of storage. Gee, I can put at least 20 high definition movies with true dolby sound on a $70 hard drive and watch them anywhere - why will I use a BR media with $25 price tag per one blank disk?

Saying that the PSP targeting the same demographic as the iPhone is moronic. You may as well be saying that Megadeth targets the same audience as the Jonas Brothers. Just because they're both music doesn't mean they're vying for the same piece of the pie. It also doesn't mean that either one is stupid for not simultaneously going for the biggest slice. If no one is going for the smallest slice, you may acquire MORE of the pie than by trying to wrest a giant one from two other people.

Hmm, you are confusing the phones 5 years ago with the modern mobile devices. Smartphones just recently became mass market because of their multimedia capability. Why 90% of the young adults would spend $250 for PSP Go on the top of their Iphone or Ipod or HD Zune? And we shall consider the inconviniently expensive MemStick, games costing 20-40 bucks, ets.

So, seems like SONY aims at a small niche market like teenagers and below, who usually don't have own income. Why I as a parent shall give my child $250 on the top of his/her Ipod /a must have for a teenager/? Apple store games are available for as little as $1. Who gives a s**** that SONY $40 games are more hard-core games, when they cost so much more then any other entertainment alternative?

That's my point - the device may have a niche market, but then it is priced totally inappropriately for that. So either they have to reduce the price significantly, or to sell very low volume at this price. Both ways their total PSP Go revenue will collapse.

I'm gonna go with people that actually want to play them for more than 30 minutes total. I'm not saying all games on the iPhone/iTouch are bad and/or get boring quickly, but I've seen my far share of games on my dad's iPhone and many of them just look stupid.

Though if you're just looking at prices then you might as well just look at only homebrew games for the PSP. I mean, you can get most of them for free after all. I'd personally take quality over price any day. It's why I've loved all of Blizzard's products, although WoW simply doesn't appeal to me you can't say it's not well made, and own all of them. I've paid for Diablo 2 and Starcraft multiple times, sadly because I've lost the discs or more accurately because my friends have lost the discs. It's been worth it every time since the games don't lose there replay value even after this long. I really don't see how something on the Iphone could be equal or better than something like Need for Speed on the PSP. Sure, not all games are going to be great on the PSP just like not all games are going to be garbage on the iPhone. But you have a dedicated gaming device compared to a phone that has the ability to play games. There is never a comparison in terms of quality.

Though your argument seems kind of hypocritical at best. If you are saying that you don't need overlapping devices then that's fine, but I'm sure you probably have a digital camera to take pictures even though your phone has been capable of taking pictures for years. And perhaps not now, but at some point I'm sure you had an MP3 player as well as a phone. Of course you'd be right in that you really don't need 2 multimedia players for one person. The fact that the iPhone/iTouch and PSP overlap in so many areas does make it a dilemma. And considering the price for the Go I certainly understand why you wouldn't get it if your kid has an iPhone/iTouch, but the old PSP is a lot cheaper, and can be found used for even less. No reason you couldn't get one of those if they wanted the games on it.

"Game reviewers fought each other to write the most glowing coverage possible for the powerhouse Sony, MS systems. Reviewers flipped coins to see who would review the Nintendo Wii. The losers got stuck with the job." -- Andy Marken